Iowa bill would ban traffic-signal changers

If an
Iowa lawmaker gets his way, devices that can change some traffic signals from
red to green would be outlawed.

A
traffic-light changer is designed to allow police, fire and other emergency
officials to clear intersections before they approach.

Sponsored
by Rep. Gerald Jones, R-Silver City, the bill is intended to deter anyone other
than public safety and transit agencies from using so-called mobile infrared
transmitters, or MIRTs. It calls for violators to face up to 30 days in jail
and/or a $500 fine.

The
devices, which sit on a vehicle’s dash, are not regulated by current federal
standards because they rely on a beam of light instead of a radio wave to
trigger the light-changing mechanisms that have been attached to some
intersections. The light-changing mechanisms have been in use since the early
1970s.